Method of activating a remotely controllable device

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a system for remote control of a controllable device. The system comprises a remote control ( 101 ) unit with a means ( 103 ) for communicating at least one command produced by the remote control unit to the controllable device ( 102 ). The remote control unit ( 101 ) comprises at least one detector ( 104 ) for sensing the picking up of said remote control unit ( 101 ) or the proximity of a user. According to the invention, the remote control unit ( 101 ) is arranged to communicate an activating command ( 105 ) to the controllable device ( 102 ) upon obtaining an output from the detector ( 104 ) for sensing the picking up of said remote control unit or the proximity of a user. The system further comprises the controllable device ( 102 ) which is arranged to start booting upon receiving the activating command ( 105 ) from the remote control unit ( 101 ). The controllable device ( 102 ) may be a television set.

The invention relates to a system for remote control of a controllabledevice, the system comprising a remote control unit with a means forcommunicating at least one command produced by the remote control unitto the controllable device, the remote control unit comprising at leastone detector for sensing the picking up of said remote control unit orthe proximity of a user.

The invention also relates to a method of remotely controlling acontrollable device, the method comprising a step of communicating atleast one command produced by a remote control unit to the controllabledevice, and a step of sensing the picking up of said remote control unitor the proximity of a user.

An embodiment of such a system is known from Research Disclosure 33283,“Energy-saving Remote Control Unit”.

Nowadays, many consumer electronic (CE) products like television sets,videocassette recorders (VCR) and other video equipment, some domesticappliances, etc. can be controlled with a remote control unit. Acontrollable device is activated by a “wake-up” command sent by theremote control unit. Typically, the “wake-up” command is produced when auser presses one of the key available at the remote control unit, whichmay be also equipped with a touch screen or the like. In many cases, thecontrollable device is not ready to be used immediately upon receivingthe “wake-up” command. A first step of pressing the key or touching thescreen and generating the “wake-up” command by the remote control unitusually requires several seconds. In the next step, the user has to waitsome time until the controllable device is in the “ready-to-use” state.

Such a CE product may incorporate personal computers for controlling theoperation of this CE product. The personal computer remains in the bootstate for some time after a power supply switch of the device has beenturned on. The device is not ready for use, because the user has to waituntil a boot-strap program of the personal computer is executed. In themeantime, the user cannot use said CE product.

In another example, the CE products may incorporate video displaydevices or the like, requiring a “warm-up” time after the power supplyswitch of the device has been turned on. Such devices do not displayanything for some time so that these CE products can neither be usedduring the first seconds or minutes.

In this way, the user can actually use his/her TV set, VCR or the likeafter several seconds, or tens of seconds, or some minutes. This waitingperiod during which the CE product is being prepared for use is annoyingand undesirable.

Many techniques of optimizing the CE electronic products for reducingsaid initialization time are known in the prior art. Despite this thecurrently known CE products are being initialized within a relativelyshort time, but many users would prefer to reduce said initializationtime or eliminate it completely. It is not considered in the prior artto optimize the above-described first step of pressing the key ortouching the screen and generate the “wake-up” command by the remotecontrol unit.

It is an object of the invention to provide a system for remote controlof a controllable device of the kind defined in the opening paragraph,the system being arranged to decrease or eliminate the initializationtime of preparing the system for use by anticipating when the user wouldlike to use this system.

The object of the invention is realized in that the remote control unitis arranged to communicate an activating command to the controllabledevice upon obtaining an output from at least one detector for sensingthe picking up of said remote control unit or the proximity of a user.

In a first example, the user usually starts operating the controllabledevice by picking up the remote control unit which has a relativelysmall size, and the detector senses this picking up. In another example,the detector senses the proximity of a user, e.g. when the user moveshis/her hand, finger, etc. in close proximity to the remote control unitor when the user intentionally moves his/her hand, finger, etc. towardsthe remote control unit. Particularly, the detector can be arranged tosense a user's physical contact with the remote control unit, such astouching the unit, before it is touched, moving the unit, etc. Thedetector may be a motion sensor, a heat sensor, a touch sensor or thelike, incorporated in the remote control unit. Upon obtaining the outputfrom the detector, the remote control unit communicates the activatingcommand to the controllable device Obviously, the activating commandcauses the controllable device to switch on.

An advantage of the present invention is that the user only has to pickup or bring his/her hand near the remote control unit, etc. to activatethe controllable device. The user does not need to press the button ortouch the touch screen of the remote control unit or the like to specifyone or more commands including the activating command to be sent to thecontrollable device known in the prior art. Another advantage is that,according to the present invention, the controllable device is beingactivated faster than is known in the prior art because the activatingcommand is produced faster by the remote control unit. The advantage ofthe present invention will be apparent, if the controllable device needsa relatively long time to prepare it for use. An example of such acontrollable device is the television system incorporating the personalcomputer which starts booting upon receiving the activating command.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the remote controlunit further comprises a timer for measuring the period of time of notusing the remote control unit and/or the controllable device. The timeris arranged to provide a timer measurement. Immediately after producingthe activating signal, the timer starts counting a time of non-use (idletime). If another output from the detector is obtained prior toexpiration of a pre-set period of time, the timer automatically resetsitself to once again begin counting the time of non-use. The pre-settime may be entered and changed by the user. If no further output fromthe detector is obtained, no further key is pressed or no further useraction is detected prior to expiration of a pre-set period of time, andthe remote control unit communicates a further command to thecontrollable device to switch off said controllable device.Subsequently, the remote control unit is also switched off, for example,to save battery energy.

The system operates with a first and second pre-set period of time. Thefirst pre-set period of time is limited to a relatively short period oftime such as three, five, or ten seconds in order to prevent switchingon the controllable device unintentionally, for example by accidentallymoving the remote control unit. It is assumed that if the user picks up,or moves his/her hand near the remote control unit, etc. not by chance,by pressing the key of the remote control unit to select the TV program,“surfing the TV programs”, etc. is further detected within this shortperiod of time after obtaining the output from the detector. If nooutput from the detector is obtained, no key is pressed or no useraction is detected after communicating the activating command, and thecontrollable device is given the switch off command. If the time ofstarting up the controllable device after receiving the activatingcommand by said device is longer than the first pre-set period of time,the start-up of the controllable device can be stopped or undone uponreceiving the switch-off command by said controllable device.

The second pre-set period of time is longer than the broadcast time of a“regular” TV program, e.g. half an hour, or one, two, or more hours. Thecontrollable device is switched off if the user's attention is notfocused on it. This is determined if no output from the detector isobtained, no key is pressed or no user action is detected within saidsecond pre-set period of time. This may be useful, for example, when theuser watches the TV program for half an hour and his/her attention hasbeen diverted by something different for a relatively long time like,10, 15 minutes, etc.

The remote control unit may be built in another material objectdifferent from the controllable device. The material object may be anobject surrounding the controllable device, like a chair in front of thetelevision set or another piece of furniture sensing when the user usesit. In that way, the remote control unit may be a simple device and maybe arranged to communicate only the activating command to thecontrollable device and give a command to switch off the controllabledevice.

In a further embodiment, the remote control unit comprises a pluralityof identical or non-identical detectors. For example, the remote controlunit may comprise a motion sensor, a touch sensor, a heat sensor oranother detector for sensing the proximity of a user to the remotecontrol unit, the control unit or any part or combination of them.

In a further embodiment, the remote control unit is arranged tocommunicate the activating command repeatedly to the controllable deviceupon obtaining the output from the detector for sensing the picking upof said remote control unit or the proximity of a user. When the userpicks up, moves his/her hand near the remote control unit, etc., it maynot be possible to transmit the activating command to the controllabledevice immediately. This may happen because the remote control unit isdesigned to operate with infrared signals and is not directed to thecontrollable device, or when the remote control unit may be initiallytoo far away from the controllable device, etc. In this way, theactivating command is communicated repeatedly after a substantiallyshort period of time.

In a further embodiment, the remote control unit comprises a means forbi-directional communication with the controllable device, and thecontrollable device comprises a means for bi-directional communicationwith the remote control unit. Such communication means are known in theprior art as various transceivers which are capable of receiving andtransmitting signals.

In a further embodiment, the controllable device is arranged tocommunicate at least one acknowledge signal to the remote control unit,said acknowledge signal comprising a confirmation of receiving theactivating command. In this way, the remote control unit is arranged tocommunicate the activating command repeatedly, preferably for a finiteperiod of time. Thus, the repeated transmission of the activatingcommand is stopped upon receiving the acknowledge signal from thecontrollable device.

In a further embodiment, the remote control unit comprises a pluralityof means for communicating at least one command to the controllabledevice. This at least one command is communicated in more than onespatial direction. In this way, it will be possible to transmit theactivating command to the controllable device, for example if the remotecontrol unit is not directed to the controllable device and designed tooperate with infrared signals. For example, the remote control unit mayincorporate two of said communication means at the front and rear sidesof its frame. Of course, many variations are possible, and the quantityof communication means necessary for transmitting the activating commanddepends on a construction and other factors related with theimplementation of said communication means.

In a further embodiment, the means of the remote control unit forcommunication to the controllable device are designed to operate with RFsignals. In some situations, the use of the remote control unitincluding the communication means designed to operate with RF signals ispreferable because the RF signals are transmitted in all directions, thecontrollable device is installed at a location out of reach of R beamsor the like.

The object of the present invention is also realized in that the methodof the invention comprises a step of communicating an activating commandto the controllable device upon obtaining an output from at least onedetector for sensing the picking up of said remote control unit or theproximity of user. The method comprises the steps of operation of thesystem of the present invention.

These and other aspects of the present invention will be furtherelucidated and described with reference to the accompanying drawings,wherein:

FIG. 1 shows a functional block diagram of the system of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 shows a flow chart of the method of the present invention.

Referring to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows a functional block diagram ofthe system of the present invention.

The system includes a remote control unit 101 and a controllable device102. The remote control unit 101 comprises a communication means 103 forcommunicating at least one command to the controllable device 102 and atleast one detector 104 for sensing the picking up of said remote controlunit 101 or the proximity of a user. The remote control unit 101 isarranged to communicate an activating command 105 to the controllabledevice 102 upon obtaining an output from the detector 104 for sensingthe picking up of said remote control unit 101 or the proximity of auser's hand, finger, etc. to the remote control unit. Obviously, theactivating command 105 causes the controllable device to switch on.

In a first example, the user usually starts operating the controllabledevice 102 by picking up the remote control unit 101 which has arelatively small size, and the detector 104 senses this picking up. Inanother example, the detector 104 senses the proximity of a user, e.g.when the user moves his/her hand, finger, etc. in close proximity to theremote control unit 101 or when the user intentionally moves his/herhand, finger, etc. towards the remote control unit 101. Particularly,the detector can be arranged to sense a user's physical contact with theremote control unit 101, such as touching the unit, before it istouched, moving the unit, etc. The detector 104 may be a motion sensor,a heat sensor, a touch sensor or the like, incorporated in the remotecontrol unit 101.

The remote control unit 101 also comprises control circuits 106 coupledto the communication means 103 and a switch 107, which is coupled to apower source 108, and an adjustable timer 109. The control circuits 106may be conventional remote control circuits known in the prior art. Theremote control unit may have a plurality of keys such as numerical keys,function keys, which are widely known in the prior art.

The switch 107 and the adjustable timer 109 are controlled by the outputof the detector 104 as known from document U.S. Pat. No. 6,259,486. Thecontrol circuits 106 and the communication means 103 receive power whenthe output is obtained from the detector 104. This significantly reducesthe consumption of power from the power source 108 of the remote controlunit 101. The timer 109 is designed to measure the period of time whenthe remote control unit 101 and/or the controllable device 102 is notused (or is idle). The timer 109 is arranged to provide a timermeasurement. Immediately after producing the activating signal 105, thetimer starts counting a time of non-use (or idle time). If anotheroutput from the detector 104 is obtained prior to expiration of apre-set period of time, the timer automatically resets itself to onceagain begin counting the time of non-use. The timer will be also resetif the user presses one of the keys of the remote control unit or thelike. The pre-set time may be entered and changed by the user. If nooutput from the detector 104 is obtained, no further key is pressed orno further user action is detected prior to expiration of a pre-setperiod of time, and the communication means 103 transmits a furthercommand 110 to the controllable device 102 to switch off saidcontrollable device 102. Subsequently, the remote control unit 101 isalso switched off to save power provided by the power source 108.

The described system of the present invention allows cost-effectiveimplementations. The controllable devices may include televisions, VCRsor other consumer electronic products requiring a relatively long timefor booting or starting up and being capable of remotely receiving andexecuting the commands produced by the remote control unit. The remotecontrol unit and controllable device can be arranged to communicate witheach other via infrared signals.

The detector 104 may comprise a plurality of identical or non-identicaldetectors. For example, it may comprise more than one detector such as amotion sensor, a touch sensor, a heat sensor or another detector forsensing the proximity of a user to the remote control unit, the controlunit, or any combination of them.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the remote control unitcomprises the communication means 103 arranged for bi-directionalcommunication with the controllable device, and the controllable devicecomprises a communication means 111 arranged for bi-directionalcommunication with the remote control unit. Such communication means areknown in the prior art as various transceivers which are capable ofreceiving and transmitting signals.

In a further embodiment, the controllable device 102 is arranged tocommunicate at least one acknowledge signal 112 to the remote controlunit 101, said acknowledge signal comprising a confirmation of receivingthe activating command 105. The remote control unit is arranged tocommunicate the activating command repeatedly, preferably for a finiteperiod of time. Thus, the repeated transmission of the activatingcommand is stopped upon receiving the acknowledge signal from thecontrollable device.

The method describes steps of operation of the system of the presentinvention. The method comprises a step of communicating the activatingcommand to the controllable device upon obtaining the output from thedetector for sensing the picking up of said remote control unit or theproximity of a user to the remote control unit.

Referring now to FIG. 2, a flow chart of the method of the presentinvention is shown. In step 210, it is verified whether the output isobtained from the detector for sensing the picking up of said remotecontrol unit or the proximity of a user. If said output is obtained, theremote control unit is switched on upon obtaining said output from thedetector in the next step 220, e.g. the communication means and the restof the remote control unit receives power from the power source.Subsequently, the activating command is being sent to the controllabledevice in step 230.

Any other step known in the prior art may be performed with thecontrollable device in step 240. In this way, this step may compriseselecting TV channels, watching TV programs etc, in the case when thecontrollable device is the television set.

The method further comprises a step 250 of verifying whether any outputis obtained from the detector of the remote control unit, or any button,key, etc. is pressed, or any other user action is performed with theremote control unit for the pre-set period of time. Step 250 may alsocomprise verifying whether the user's attention is focused on the remotecontrol unit or controllable device. Step 250 is being performedaccording to the system of the present invention described above.

Step 260 is performed if no output is obtained from the detector of theremote control unit and/or no key is pressed, etc. in step 250. Theremote control communicates the command to the controllable device toswitch off said controllable device, and the remote control device isalso switched off in step 260. Step 210 is further executed after step260.

The object of the invention is achieved in that the system, method andvarious embodiments are provided with reference to the accompanyingdrawings. The system allows the user to start operating said systemfaster than is known in the prior art. The system is more user-friendlyoriented. The advantages of the system are apparent when, for example,the controllable device is a device that cannot execute user commandsimmediately after receiving the activating command by said device, thedevice requiring some “warming up”, etc. Thus, the faster the activatingcommand is sent to such a controllable device, the sooner thecontrollable device is ready to the further use.

The various program products may implement the functions of the systemand method of the present invention and may be combined in several wayswith the hardware or located in different devices. Variations andmodifications of the described embodiment are possible within the scopeof the inventive concept.

1. A system for remote control of a controllable device, the systemcomprising a remote control (101) unit with a means (103) forcommunicating at least one command produced by the remote control unitto the controllable device (102), the remote control unit (101)comprising at least one detector (104) for sensing the picking up ofsaid remote control unit (101) or the proximity of a user, the systembeing characterized in that the remote control unit (101) is arranged tocommunicate an activating command (105) to the controllable device (102)upon obtaining an output from the detector (104) for sensing the pickingup of said remote control unit or the proximity of a user.
 2. A systemas claimed in claim 1, wherein the controllable device (102) is arrangedto start booting upon receiving the activating command (105) from theremote control unit (101).
 3. A system as claimed in claim 1, whereinthe controllable device (102) is a television set.
 4. A system asclaimed in claim 1, wherein the remote control unit (101) comprises atimer (109) for measuring the period of time of not using the remotecontrol unit (101) and/or the controllable device (101), the timer (109)being arranged to thereby provide a timer measurement, the remotecontrol unit (101) being arranged to communicate a further command (110)to the controllable device (102) to switch off said remote control unit(101) and/or controllable device (102) upon reaching a timer measurementequal to a pre-set period of time.
 5. A system as claimed in claim 1,wherein the remote control unit (101) is arranged to communicate theactivating command (105) repeatedly to the controllable device (102)upon obtaining the output from the detector (104) for sensing thepicking up of said remote control unit or the proximity of a user.
 6. Asystem as claimed in claim 1, wherein the remote control unit (101)comprises a means (103) for bi-directional communication with thecontrollable device (102), the controllable device (102) comprising ameans (111) for bi-directional communication with the remote controlunit (101).
 7. A system as claimed in claim 6, wherein the controllabledevice (102) is arranged to communicate at least one acknowledge signal(112) to the remote control unit (101), said acknowledge signal (112)comprising a confirmation of receiving the activating command (105). 8.A system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the remote control unit (101)comprises a plurality of means for communicating at least one commandproduced by the remote control unit to the controllable device (102),said at least one command being communicated in more than one spatialdirection.
 9. A system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the means (103) ofthe remote control unit (101) for communication to the controllabledevice (102) are designed to operate with RF signals.
 10. A method ofremotelye controlling a controllable device, the method comprising astep of communicating at least one command produced by a remote controlunit to the controllable device, and a step (210) of sensing the pickingup of said remote control unit or the proximity of a user, the methodbeing characterized in that the method comprises a step (230) ofcommunicating an activating command to the controllable device uponobtaining an output from at least one detector for sensing the pickingup of said remote control unit or the proximity of a user.
 11. A remotecontrol unit for use in the system as claimed in claim 1, the remotecontrol unit (101) comprising at least one detector (104) for sensingthe picking up of said remote control unit (101) or the proximity of auser, the remote control unit (101) being arranged to communicate anactivating command (105) to the controllable device (102) upon obtainingan output from the detector (104) for sensing the picking up of saidremote control unit (101) or the proximity of a user.